Musical instrument string divider



March 19, 1963 v E. o. RETTER MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRING DIVIDER Filed Oct. 9, 1961 INVENTOR EUGENE o. RETTER ATTORNEYS United States Patent ()1 3,081,662 MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRING DIVIDER Eugene 0. Retter, 2336 Midvale Terrace, Kalamazoo, Mich. Filed Oct. 9, 1961, Ser. No. 148,786 4 Claims. (Cl. 84-498) This invention relates to an improvement in stringed musical instruments and more particularly to an improved string dividing nut and/or bridge which permits maintenance of the characteristic volume and timber of the stringed instrument and prolongs the effective life and smoothness of steel strings on musical instruments.

The musical instrument art has employed various types of vibrating, tone producing, string material including gut, silk, nylon, silver, bronze and steel. Steel has been selected as the string material of choice where high tensile strength is necessary. Steel, including high carbon stainless steels having high magnetic reluctance, is essentially the only string material practical for modern electric stringed instruments using a magnetic pickup for electronic amplification. Only ferrous strings posses sufficient magnetic reluctance to be suitable for use with magnetic pickups.

Unprotected ferrous metal strings soon become rough and unsuitable for use on musical instruments. Rough strings cause difficulty in fingering, slurring and plucking, either with bare fingers or with a plectrum. In an effort to prolong the life of the ferrous strings, it has been customary to plate the strings with silver, gold, nickel or tin. The plating is effective onlyin prolonging the shelf life of the unused strings. Upon application of the ferrous strings to a musical instrument, and subjecting them to tension and elongation, the gloss or slip of the string and plated coating is short lived. Professional musicians therefore find it necessary to change strings at very short intervals. This is an expense and nuisance. The nuisance is not only due to added work of uns-tringing and then re stringing the instrument, it is to a great extent caused by the fact that newly strung ferrous strings do not maintain their pitch. Newly stretched strings slowly yield and become flat in pitch. This flatting diminishes with time. But as the time increases, the physical condition of the strings rapidly decreases. The strings become stabilized in pitch when they are no longer fit for ready playing. The strings lose their initial essential gloss and slip. They become dull in appearance and gritty in feel. This is manifestly detrimental to satisfactory performance of the instrument. The problem is evident in ferrous or steel-stringed, finger board or fretted musical instruments such as Spanish guitars, Hawaiian guitars, banjos, and mandolins which are displayed in musical instrument stores. Despite all efforts by the manufacturer and dealer to maintain the pristine appearance of these musical instruments, the strings soon develop dullness and grittiness. Since the ease of playing these instruments is a function inter alia of the slip or freedom from grittiness of the strings, a superior instrument with gritty strings may be less pleasant to play than an inferior instrument with newer strings. Accordingly it is necessary for the dealer or manufactures representative to replace the strings at short intervals of as little as six weeks. Otherwise, even though the strings are used but little, the smoothness in playing and improvement in tone which characteristizes the superior instruments will be lost to the prospective purchaser. This frequent changing of strings, even before the instrument is sold, is a needless expense if the present invention is utilized.

It is an object of this invention to prolong the playability of the strings of ferrous-stringed musical instruments. It is a further object to maintain slip and freedom from grittiness of steel strings on fretted finger board wooden musical instruments. It is a further object to 'ice preserve the characteristics of steel strings under tension on a wooden musical instrument. An additional object is to maintain good tone and character in stringed musical instruments. Another object is to provide a string divider for use on ferrous wooden, preferably additionally fretted stringed instruments to prolong the useful life of the strings. Other objects will be apparent to an expert in the art. Y

The FIGURE of drawing shows a perspective view of a Spanish guitar embodying the string divider of this invention and tensioned steel strings mounted on a support. There is nothing critical about the precise mode of construction of the string divider. The nut 1, the bridge 2, or the tailpiece 3, or any two or three of these are composed of the critical material herein described. It is preferred however that the nut, at least, be of the material of this invention. The conventional nut construction is easy to fabricate by casting or machining and is easily replaced, when necessary, without causing damage to the instrument. If desired, the nut may be slotted to permit the strings to rest upon the first fret as shown in Maccaferri US. Patent 2,664,022. It is merely essential that there be good metallic and preferably direct contact between the ferrous strings andthe string divider of this invention and that the body of the instrument be made of wood rather than metal.

The string divider composition of this invention is made of cadmium, zinc or magnesium. The commercially pure material, for example technical zinc of 99.99% purity or foundry zinc of 99.7% purity is satisfactory. Preferably, however, magnesium, alloys containing predominantly magnesium, or alloys containing predominantly zinc constitute the material of the string divider. Although not as satisfactory as zinc or magnesium, or alloys of zinc or magnesium, it has been found that cadmium and cadmium alloys containing predominantly cadmium are effective string dividers for prolonging ferrous string life. Zinc containing from 0.03% to 0.07% of antimony has been found effective. Zinc containing 1% of magnesium is of fine grain and is quite suitable for the instant purpose. Magnesium alloys containing 0.025% to 40% aluminum with substantially all of the balance being magnesium are satisfactory. Alloys of magnesium with aluminum in the proportion of 3%, 6%, 0%, or 40% have been useful herein. Very satisfactory magnesium alloys for this purpose are magnesium containing 3% aluminum and 1.5% manganese; 6% aluminum and 1.5% manganese; 0.25 to 10% aluminum and 0.1 to 1.5% manganese; 10% zinc with magnesium; 5% tin with magnesium; 3% aluminum, 1% zinc, 0.3% manganese, and the balance magnesium; 4 to 9% combined zinc and aluminum with 0.15 to 0.3% manganese and the balance magnesium. Traces of copper are sometimes advantageously incorporated in the magnesium alloys to be used for the present purpose. Magnesium especially high magnesium alloys containing small proportions of copper are the most satisfactory composition for the string divider of this invention.

Example 1 Example 2 A similar guitar was modified by replacing the bone nut with an identically shaped nut made of magnesium alloy containing 4% zinc, 5% aluminum, 0.3% manganese and the balance magnesium. This guitar was played one-half hour every day for three months, over the same period and by the same player as the guitar in Example 1. At the end of that time, the strings were slick and smooth to the touch. The strings were still pleasantly playable in marked contrast to the objectionable character of the strings in the conventionalguitar of Example 1. The tone of the instrument indicated that this nut material is excellent musically.

Example 3 A wooden Spanish guitar was provided with a magnesium alloy bridge and new steel strings. After being played for three months, the strings did not exhibit the deterioration which normally occurs with even unplayed instruments in one-half of this time.

Example 4 steel strings mounted on a support, and a string dividing nut comprised of magnesium.

2. A fretted, fingered, stringed, wooden musical instrument provided with a string support comprising tensioned ferrous stringsmounted on a support, and a string divider composed of a metal from the class consisting of magnesium, Zinc, cadmium, an alloy predominantly magnesium, an alloy, predominantly zinc, and an alloy predominantly cadmium. p

3. A fretted, fingered, stringed, wooden musical instrument providing with a string support comprising tensioned steel strings mounted on a support, and a string dividing nut consisting of an alloy containing aluminum and predominantly magnesium.

4. A fretted, fingered, stringed, wooden musical instrument provided with a string support comprising tensioned steel strings mounted on a support, a finger board, and a string dividing nut consisting predominantly of magnesium. 

1. A FRETTED, FINGERED, STRINGED, WOODEN MUSICAL INSTRUMENT PROVIDED WITH A STRING SUPPORT COMPRISING TENSIONED STEEL STRINGS MOUNTED ON A SUPPORT, AND A STRING DIVIDING NUT COMPRISED OF MAGNESIUM. 